Changes in serum lipids with the onset and progression of Diabetic Retinopathy in Type-II Diabetes Mellitus

Objective

To investigate the role of serum lipids in the onset and progression of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) in Type-II diabetes (T2DM) individuals.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology (NIDE), Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) from March to May 2019. After signing the informed consent, healthy controls (n=30), T2DM patients (diabetic n=30), proliferative (PDR n=30) and non-proliferative (NPDR n= 30) of age 18 to 65 years were selected by convenient sampling. Background information was gathered through interviews and the fundoscopy was done. Fasting five ml venous blood samples were collected and analysed for triglycerides (TGs), cholesterol, HDL, LDL, VLDL and the HbA1c using commercially available assays. The SPSS, version 24.0, was used for data analysis.

Results

The HbA1c level was high in the diabetes, NPDR and PDR groups than control (p<0.05). The serum TGs and cholesterol were raised while the HDL was low in the diabetes group than in control (p<0.05). The cholesterol and LDL were high in the diabetes group compared to NPDR and PDR groups (p<0.05). The cholesterol and VLDL showed a positive moderately strong correlation with HbA1c in the PDR group (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The serum lipid levels vary with the HbA1c levels and greater degree of derangement is observed with increasing mean HbA1C independent of diabetic retinopathy. For this reason, strict control of HbA1c and serum lipid level by lifestyle and/or pharmacologic intervention is recommended in diabetes with or without retinopathy.

Gender Differences and Prevalence of Mental Health Problems in Students of Healthcare Units

The aim of the present was to assess and compare the mental health of male and female healthcare students in a Health University of Karachi, Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted for which questionnaire was designed along the standard scoring scales of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and phobia (IAPT) completed by 300 enrolled students. Females (52%) of the medical institute suffered from mild to moderately-severe depression in contrast to the males (33%). Females were found to be affected by mild anxiety and phobia (42.7 and 26% respectively) exceeding the male population (27.3 and 15.3% respectively). However, severe depression or anxiety was not observed in either gender groups significantly, suggesting a healthy mental picture of these medical students. It can be concluded that health care students in modern upgraded education systems, in contrast to evidence from literature, have been able to adopt better coping mechanisms for maintaining their mental health.

Correction to: Gender Differences and Prevalence of Mental Health Problems in Students of Healthcare Units

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a typo in the author name. The co-author name should be Ahsan Ehtesham instead it was published as Ahsan Ehtisham.

Attitude of future healthcare provider towards vitamin D significance in relation to sunlight exposure

Objective: Nature is the kindest of all to provide man with all the necessary components for a healthy life at easily accessible lengths. The deprivation arises with unawareness and lack of correct measures to extract the benefits. Medical education makes the youth aware of the numerous disorders and diseases, as well as their preventions and treatments. This awareness needs to be realized and implemented in the society, and it is not possible without the advisers acting on the same lines. Since doctors are the most trusted and their advice is adopted without much thought, it is extremely inevitable to analyze the attitude of medical students of various levels to understand the cause of their negligence toward their own deficiencies, the focus for this study being vitamin D (VD). Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was done on undergraduate medical students of health profession from different universities of Pakistan to access the awareness regarding VD deficiency associated with sunlight. Informed consent was duly signed by each participant after which self-constructed questionnaire was provided to them and data are collected. SPSS 17 was used for Statistical analysis. Results: Final students are well aware of VD significance, take food rich in VD but still suffer from fatigue and muscular pain. No treatment was taken for fatigue and muscular pain by majority of these sufferers and those who took treatment were VD supplement. The health sufferers were mostly those who avoided sunlight highlighting the role of VD in maintaining an active lifestyle as well as the significance of sunlight in maintaining VD levels. Conclusion: It can be concluded that in spite of awareness, the role of sunlight exposure and the proper time and duration of exposure cannot be ignored to create a healthy and active society.